West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1887-12-01

tAe occasion, and the newspapers pu
me down rs one OF tho shaEpost aud
shrcwdeSt thieves iu the country. Every
nducement was held out Co re TO give
away my confcderates, who were sup
posed 10 be older men aud tougher
characters, and my inability 10 do il
was laid TO shrewdnoss and eve. Toe
only lame point with the detectives was
the fact that was on my way into the
city when captured, and that l was
showing myself openly and boldly. 1t
was hard TO believe that q robbcr would
hang about town with his pockets full Of
plundcr, but they got over this by say
ing il was a shrewd move on my part 10
throw them of tho scent.
Had / acknowledged my identity,
Uncle Jabcz would have come on TO de-
fcnd and clear me, but would have also
taken me back aud thrashod me within
m inch OF my life. l dreaded him more
than state prison, aud, therefore, when
the trial came on had nothing 10 say,
and was sentenced TO state prison for
three years. was glad Of il. / would
be of age when came out, and as no
one would hear of me in the interval,
would have nothing 10 fear from my ty-
rant of an uncle.
The fact that / served only four
months of my sentence was duo TO the
efforts Of oac oil detective in another
case. l had forgotten TO tell you that
the j;welcr and two Of his clerks had
fully identified me as "a person who
had been in the store several times Just
previous to the robbery" The proprie-
tor swore that he sold me ring for So,
aud one of the clerks testified on the
stand that stood for half an hour and
bartcred with him about q silver watch.
''Then you positively swear ho is the
persona" asked my counsel in each
case.
IL do" was the decided answer.
could have shown that was twenty
five miles away at the time, and that |
had never stepped foot in Cleveland be-
fore the morning Of my arrest, but, for
reasons which have stated. / made no
effort in my own defence. i went of to
prison with n comparatively light heart,
knowing my own innocence. i had been
n convict for four months when one day.
/ was called into the Wardcn's Office.
There were several gentlemen present,
and among them | recognized tho Cuya-
hoga county Prosecuting Attorney and
two Cleveland detectives. The PrOsccu-
tor began by declaring that was an in
nocent man, and then asked for my
story. Under promise that they would
not bctray me, gave it to them. 1t
seems that the detective, in working on
another case, had fallen upon the Jew
elry robbers and secured most OF the
plumber. There were three Of them, all
Old hands, and the stuff found had
been lost by them as they drove out of
the city. Robbers though they were,
they did me a good turn by denying thlt
l had any hand in the affair. Indeed.
after the case was opened, the
detectives saw that a blum
der had been made in arrest
ing me. The gentlemen had como with
pardon from the Governor, and re-
turned to Cleveland with them on the
promise Of employment To test the
value Of the people at tho icwelry store
as witnesses the detective took me in
there and asked il they had ever seen me
before. Four months could not have
changed me much, and yet those who
had sworn SO boldly against me on tho
stand now denied having ever seen me
before. / have been detective for
years, lut that circumstance has always
been uppcrmost in my mind when had
a case where the identity of a prisoner
was to be sworn to. / have always eau
toned my witnesses not to testify unless
satisfied beyond all doubt. My caution
has several times operated TO let n bad
man escape the clutches Of the law, but
that was better than TO swear an innocent
mans life or liberty away.
The other instance occurred in Ten
ne5scc just before the breaking out Of
thc war. bought OF the inventor tho
State right Of Tennessee OF a certain
patent, out Of which / expected TO
realize a large fortune. ! secured as
my agent in the State an Ohio man
named James Miller. had known him
for many years, and would have stalk ed
my life on his honesty and veracity.
We visited Chattanooga, Knoxville,
Nashville, and other towns, and /
finally parted with him at Memphis. Hc
was 10 manufacture ond sell through
dealers. What happened TO him, how
ever, occurred in the northern part OF
the State near Clarksville. lie had
been dealing with somebody in that
town, and then hired q horse and buggy
to 60 out seven or eight miles into the
country to look at n horse with view
Of buying. As he was leaving the hotel
a buyer Of horses an1 mules named
Charles Sweet asked to 90 with him.
and offered to pay half the expense Of
the rig. The offer was accepted, and
the two drove away.
Several incidents occurred during that
ride. They wero not a mile out OF
ClarksyiIlo when the horse shicd 90 ono
side and almost upset the buggy, and
Sweet, in saving himself from falling
out, suddenly elevated his elbow and
hit Miller on the nose, causing it to
bleed. Several drops stained his shirt
bosom, and others fell upon the buggy
cushion. a mile further on the horse
baked at n hill, and Miller descended
from the buggy and coaxed him until he
started on. In starting he threw Miller
down, and n wheel OF the buggy passed
over the small Of his back. lie did not
mind the injury then, and brushed the
mud and dirt from his clothes and fol D.
lowed on TO the top Of the h1 and
ri in hoI Ia Half n offo fr... a.. f---